In 1909, after studying art in New York for eight years, Julian
Onderdonk returned to Texas. During the following thirteen years,
before his tragic death in 1922, Julian would paint the Texas
landscape with a skill and sensitivity few, if any, artists have
equaled. Julian's father and artist, Robert J. Onderdonk, helped
found the Art Student League of New York and studied under William
Merritt Chase during his last year there. Robert eventually settled
in San Antonio and started a family. When Julian was sixteen years
old Robert officially became his first art teacher. The quality of
Julian's work is partly due to the formal training he received
while attending the Art Student League of New York. It was there
that he began taking classes from Chase and later attended Chase's
summer art school at Shinnecock, New York. These formative
influences helped Julian refine his work and further develop his
own brand of American Impressionism, largely inspired by the beauty
and grandeur of the Texas landscape.

In addition to Impressionism, Julian found inspiration in many
styles, especially Realism and Tonalism. Elements of Realism are
evident in most of his landscapes, a product of his lifelong
obsession with the natural world of Texas. His sister and fellow
artist, Eleanor once wrote, "It is impossible to look at any of
Julian's paintings and not see the man who looked at nature with
wide-open eyes, analyzed, studied and then created." Additionally,
many of Julian's paintings show the influence of the earlier
Barbizon movement in France and the United States, exemplified by
the later paintings of George Inness and the contemporaneous
movement dubbed Tonalism. While the foundation of his style is
firmly rooted in Impressionism, at least some Tonalist and Realist
elements can be found in a great deal of Julian's paintings.

Like other Impressionists, Julian was fascinated by the atmospheric
conditions found during different seasons, weather conditions, and
times of day, particularly early morning in the Texas Hill Country.
In such paintings, he combines Impressionism and Tonalism with his
own special brand of Realism in order to immortalize the land he
loved so much by invoking a strong emotional response from the
viewer. His own passion for the land of Texas cannot be doubted. He
once wrote:

"San Antonio offers an inexhaustible field for the artist. Nowhere
else are the
atmospheric effects more varied and more beautiful. One never tires
of watching
them. Nowhere else is there such a wealth of color. In the spring,
when the wild
flowers are in bloom, it is riotous: every tint, every hue, every
shade is present in the
most lavish profusion, and even in the dead of summer, when one
would imagine that
any canvas could only convey the impression of intense heat, the
possibilities of the
landscape are still beyond comprehension. One has only to see it
properly to find that
everything glows with a wonderful golden tint which is the delight
and the despair of
all who have ever tried to paint it."

Texas Landscape with Bluebonnets proves Julian had little
reason to despair. Much like Claude Monet's haystacks, Julian
returns continuously to the same subject but creates a different
painting each time. This is evident in the other landscapes by
Julian Onderdonk being offered in this auction. Instead of the
apprehension created by the stormy sky of Texas Landscape with
Bluebonnets, Bluebonnets in Spring shows the countryside
bathed in the warm light of dawn; Bluebonnets in the Misty
Morning's pre-dawn light and atmosphere give the painting a
dreamlike quality; and in Winter Twilight, Southwest Texas
Julian recreates the desolate winter landscape of West Texas in a
composition reminiscent of William Merritt Chase and other American
impressionists.

Julian's bluebonnet paintings were wildly popular during his
lifetime. They inspired the Texas Wildflower exhibitions in San
Antonio from 1927 to 1929. This ultimately gave rise to the
ubiquitous "Bluebonnet School," which is still prevalent in Texas
today, but no other artist has been able to capture the indefinable
magic of his interpretations of the Texas landscape. Julian
Onderdonk is often categorized as a Texas artist because of the
popularity of his breathtaking paintings of the Texas Hill Country
but these four paintings show that definition is far too narrow. As
the demand for his work grows, both inside and outside of Texas,
his paintings are increasingly being recognized as important
examples of American Impressionism which transcend any regional
classification.

Condition Report*:
There appears to be light overall surface grime with very minor frame wear along left edge; under UV exam, there appears to be a hairline of inpainting at center right edge. Framed Dimensions 10 X 13 Inches

*Heritage Auctions strives to provide as much information as possible but encourages in-person inspection by bidders.
Statements regarding the condition of objects are only for general guidance and should not be relied upon as complete statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation,
warranty or assumption of liability by Heritage. Some condition issues may not be noted in the condition report but are apparent in the provided photos which are considered part of the condition report.
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Auction Info

Auction Dates

November, 2015

7thSaturday

Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 3

Lot Tracking Activity: N/A

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